The National Pork Producers Council is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

representing U.S. pork producers and other industry stakeholders. It lobbies on behalf of its affiliated state associations from its headquarters in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

History

The National Pork Producers Council was formed in 1954 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. In 1970, it established itself as a 501(c)(5), a

which is allowed to lobby, unlike the previous designation of charitable organization. On January 1, 1986, it became the national-level recipient of pork checkoff funds.

Political involvement

According to NPPC's website, its mission is to "fight for legislation and regulations, develop revenue and market opportunities and protect the livelihoods of America’s more than 60,000 pork producers. Public policy priority issues include those relating to animal health and food safety, environment and energy, and international trade.""National Pork Producers Council"
/ref> It conducts public policy outreach on behalf of its 42 affiliated state associations. Beyond legislation and regulation, NPPC is involved in the political process through a political action committee, PorkPAC. The PAC seeks to educate the public and support candidates at the state and federal levels who support the industry.

Pig housing

The NPPC supports a variety of housing systems, including

gestation crates A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a metal enclosure in which a farmed sow used for breeding may be kept during pregnancy.Wilson G. Pond, Fuller W. Bazer, Bernard E. Rollin (eds.), ''Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture'', CRC Press ...

and open pen housing, each of which has advantages and disadvantages concerning animal welfare, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

and other animal welfare groups have criticized NPPC's support for allowing hog farmers the right to determine the type of housing that's best for their sows.Crammed into Gestation Crates
n.d., retrieved 12 June 2016 NPPC petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn California's animal protection law Proposition 12, in '' National Pork Producers Council v. Ross''.

Environmental risk disclosure

The NPPC was responsible for the EPA's rollback on disclosing information on

factory farm Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

s. In 1999 and 2000, the EPA collected data about water and air quality, and other environmental risks surrounding pig farms
The NPPC sued the EPA
to keep information about factory hog farm
unavailable from FOIA requests
and won.

Organization

NPPC is governed by Board of Directors, composed of 15 members, and pork producer delegates from the organizations' state associations. Recommendations for new policies and for changes to existing policies are considered annually, in March, at the National Pork Industry Forum. NPPC also creates ad hoc task forces to study or provide guidance on industry issues. NPPC receives advice and works closely with the

meat-packing industry The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...

and animal health and feed companies, as well as the

National Pork Board The National Pork Board is a program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service whose purpose is to provide consumer information, perform industry-related research, and promote pork as a food product. The ...

. Together, NPPC and NPB have formed joint task forces on certain issues.

References

{{Authority control Agricultural organizations based in the United States United States Department of Agriculture programs Marketing boards Commodity checkoff programs Agricultural marketing in the United States